what am I doing wrong with Clematis?

[BigDahliaFan]

I've got an etoile violette that is just sulking, 2 evergreen winter flowering ones that haven't done a thing since I planted them last year. A clematis montana I hoped was going to ramble through a privet, and it's just disapeared - well it's still there and the stems are green when I scratch them - but no sign of any flowers.

And I've just bought a viticella to put through a wisteria and would like some advice before I plant it. It looks like a beautiful 2 litre plant at the moment, all thriving and healthy...I'd love it to thrive!

Do I need to cut them back on planting ?

Have you heard of the saying '1st year sleep, 2nd year creep, 3rd year leap' ?

People often say that about clematis! They'll hopefully come good.
I think it is suggested to cut back clematis on planting, although I never do.

No I hadn't....so I should be expecting them to 'leap' next year....fingers crossed.

I had high hopes for mine it was doing ok ( I protected it in a mini cloche till it got its feet under the table ) then the bloody slugs got it

I waited ages ti see if it would recover but nope .
This must be Clematis 3 that has perished
Though one out the front ( which I didn't plant ) is into overdrive , I need to cut it back so I can get the door open !

I decided not to buy any more Passionflowers (again I am death to them ) but ....I saw one when I was shopping and it threw itself into my trolley demanding to go home with me . Poor thing needed water so its outside now enjoying the rain,

Have you got clay soil?

Hello BigDahliaFan,

Your clematis is a group 3 plant so prune back all growth to the lowest pair of buds from the ground in February.

Check out the following link

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/clematis/pruning-guide

Happy gardening
TheSustainableGardener

I can't grow clematis. I bought a viticella, told it would be bombproof. It died. I've got one that grows every year, puts out one flower (which the birds promptly peck off) then dies back and another which grew like a weed for the first year, then died.

My next door neighbour has clematis all over her garden and they are creeping through the fence and flowering like crazy so I'm claiming those as mine. I think my problem is probably that I under water, but then she never waters hers either...

It took ours three years of tlc to truly come alive.

Plant deep & shade the bottom stems.

Roots in the shade, heads in the sun. Keep the roots cool with a big stone if necessary. Watch out for slugs - they love the emerging stems.
Prune as per@thesustainablegardener above (but let them get started first).
I prune mine on St Valentines Day, but you may have better things to do.

It’s not totally necessary for health, it’s a way of keeping the flowers at eye level rather than in the tree tops. If you’re worried about growth, or have a lot of slug damage, letting it get woody to about 2m can be useful, otherwise prune each year as described. Don’t prune it now because if it is considering having a go at flowering this year, you will cut the flowering shoots off.

The montana is an early flowering one, so prune to keep it in check once it’s finished flowering.

If you have a lot of slug damage, letting it get woody to about 2m can be useful

This is so true! I probably do about 75cm which seems to deter most beasties from butchering all the soft growth of my newly-pruned clematis. And I've never seen this tip suggested anywhere else.

That's very pretty.

It took ours even longer, but we did have to cut it right back at one point to have a fence put up.

I've just gone and pulled the dead leaves off mine , then when I gave the plany an experimental pull it stays firm. There's only 1" of stem .but it's green

So , after seeing the Year1/Year2/Year3 guide , I'm going to let it lounge a while and see if it is just pretending to be dead